Fantastic funk from the Colemine label – a company who've given us plenty of great albums over the years, but who seem especially well-tuned to the funky 45! Along with Daptone, Big Crown, and a few others, Colemine is one of the labels who turn out top-shelf 7" singles again and again – most of which are in limited pressings, disappear fast, and are sometimes pretty expensive if you can find them! This set corrects that issue, and brings together 27 nuggets that originally appeared as funky 45s – all stacked together nicely as a massive LP set, with a nice price break from trying to track down the singles. Titles include "Gripsweats Them" by The Gripsweats, "Don't You Know" by Durand Jones & The Indications, "NUSAU" by Jungle Fire, "Supermoon" by Ikebe Shakedown, "What A Shame" by Jr Thomas & The Volcanos, "War Room" by Black Market Brass, "Aragon" by Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, "My God Has A Telephone" by Flying Stars Of Brooklyn, "He's On Time" by Harlem Gospel Travelers, "Happiness" by Wesley Bright & The Honeytones, "It Was Only A Dream" by Thee Sinseers, "America" by Soul Scratch, and "Sure Don't Miss You" by The Dip. LP, Vinyl record album

A brilliant debut from Sylvester – quite different than his later disco and club work – although still pretty upbeat and groovy overall! The album's a really unique sort of effort – one that's unabashedly gender-bending, but also wonderfully solid from a musical perspective – funky at points, rootsy at others – with an odd blend of 70s soul and older R&B elements, all filtered through the genre-bending sound of the Bay Area scene of the time! Arrangements are by Sylvester and The Hot Band, but Ben Sidran produced, and we're sure that the record's offbeat qualities are partly due to his own great style of the time – that weird, slightly messed-up groove you'd find on Ben's Blue Thumb album. The set features wild covers of "Southern Man" and "My Country Tis Of Thee" – plus "Whiter Shade Of Pale", "Gimme A Pigfoot", "God Bless The Child", "I'm A Steam Roller", "That Is Rock n Roll", and "Come Back Baby". LP, Vinyl record album

A great Crusaders album – and one that's a perfect bridge between their earlier soul jazz styles, and their tighter funkier electric one. The record was recorded live at the Roxy, and the group is augmented by Larry Carlton on guitar, who gives the tracks a nice razor edge at his best moments. All songs are pretty long – and the band is in extremely good form, jamming away with lots of funky vamping, and breaking out with some very soulful solos. Titles include "Scratch", "Hard Times", "So Far Away", and "Way Back Home". LP, Vinyl record album

Funky fusion from 70s Japan – a really great set that's heavy both on Fender Rhodes, and on a range of choppy reed lines on tenor, soprano sax, and flute! The set's got a warm glow that's perfect for the CTI generation – with an equally apt sense of space, one that keeps the record from veering into any overdone fusion cliches, and which instead helps the group stay in just the right territory to bring out all the best soul in their music. There's a funky feel on most cuts, but even the mellow numbers have a hell of a lot of soul too – thanks partly to the keyboards, and even more to a brilliant execution of the whole set. Titles include "Funky Stuff", "Scratch", "Breeze", "Painted Paradise", "Funky Motion", "Gentle Wave", and "Four Up". LP, Vinyl record album

A great Crusaders album – and one that's a perfect bridge between their earlier soul jazz styles, and their tighter funkier electric one. The album was recorded live at the Roxy, and the group is augmented by Larry Carlton on guitar, who gives the tracks a nice razor edge at his best moments. All songs are pretty long – and the band is in extremely good form, jamming away with lots of funky vamping, and breaking out with some very soulful solos. Titles include "Scratch", "Hard Times", "So Far Away", and "Way Back Home". CD

Early work from the great Bob Marley – material cut with the initial lineup of The Wailers, at a time before the group would go onto much greater global fame on Island Records! The equally legendary Lee Scratch Perry is at the helm on production – and although the music here has more rough edges than some of the polished commercial work of Marley's classic years, that also makes for a heck of a lot of appeal – and a quality that also links the group's work more tightly to some of the other Jamaican trios of the rocksteady years. A few cuts here were remade later, and titles include "Keep On Moving", "Don't Rock My Boat", "Fussing & Fighting", "Put It On", "Duppy Conqueror (Version 4)", "Kaya", "Memphis", "African Herbsman" "Brain Washing", and "Sun Is Shining". In the original Upsetter mono mix, too! LP, Vinyl record album

Second volume of nice, nice radio soul from the 60s put together by Bay Area radio station KSOL. As you'd imagine, there's some bigger hits, but there's some nice nuggets of almost forgotten R&B and soul too. 21 numbers in all, including "I Really Love You" by Dee Dee Sharp, "Baby Scratch My Back" by Slim Harpo, "She Blew A Good Thing" by The Poets, "Sad Girl" by Jay Wiggins, "Turn On The Love Light" by Bobby Bland, "Am I Grooving You" by Freddie Scott, "Why Do I Do These Foolish Things" by the Magicians, "Something I Want To Tell You" by Johnny & The Impressions, "The Richest Girl" by Little Helen, and "Send My Baby Back" by Freddie Hughes. LP, Vinyl record album

Early 80s clubby funk & soul from Freeez – a pretty sweet mix of period synth and boogie soul with far richer, live instrumentation and solid, hooky songwriting! Freeez recorded Gonna Get You in Manhattan – and you can certainly hear the NYC culture of the time flowing nicely in the groove. The songs are really good, and catchy enough to have caught on a much bigger level – with male and female lead and chorus backing vocals, and the synths and drum machines pulse and thump underneath congas, bongos and other percussion, Rhodes, piano and other elements. Includes "We've Got The Juice", "Can't Keep My Love", "Love's Gonna Get You", "Pop Goes My Love", "IOU", "Freezin'", "Can You", "Watch Me" and "Gonna Get You (Megamix)" – the 13 minute closer of disc 1. Disc 2 features 13 bonus tracks: "IOU (7" Version)", "We Got The Jazz", "Scratch Goes My Dub (7" Version)", "Love's Gonna Get You (7" Version)", "IOU – Megamix", "A Capella U" and more. CD

One of the Jazz Crusaders' classic funky live sets from the 60's, recorded live at the Lighthouse, where there talents were slowly becoming the stuff of legend. Nice tight soul jazz stuff, with some excellent groovers that include an early version of "Scratch", plus "Blues Up Tight", "Miss It", and "Doin' That Thing". Longish tracks, with good drawn-out solos, and a totally heavy groove! LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful jazzy classic, and perhaps Gil Scott-Heron's most perfectly realized album ever! The record has a completely sophisticated jazzy approach – one that's miles ahead from even Gil's previous work on Flying Dutchman, and which shows him to be one of the most distinctive and emotive vocalists in soul and jazz over the past 25 years. The album contains the monster dancefloor track "The Bottle", which went on to be a huge hit in many versions – but it's also got loads of gentle, fragile songs (the kind of work by Gil that we like the best, and which show him as a deeply emotional and complicated artist, with a richness that still yearns to be tapped fully. Classics include "Peace Go With You Brother" and the original version of "Your Daddy Loves You". LP, Vinyl record album

Mighty is right! This tasty batch of non-vocal tracks is darn hard to find, and it shows the pre-JBs James Brown group playing with a raw raw raw soul groove that show how nicely James folded his R&B roots into a 60s soul tradition. Includes lots of obscure ones – like "The Scratch", "James Brown House Party", "Suds", "Sticky", "Cross Firing", and "Hold It". Darn tough to find too! LP, Vinyl record album

Killer organ jazz from the Chicago scene of the late 60s – one of the few Chess albums recorded by organist Odell Brown, an artist who'd go on to behind-the-scenes fame in the world of soul later on in the 70s! Here, Odell hosts a cool combo that features his own Hammond work in the lead – with other local players who include Artee "Duke" Payne on alto, Tommy Purvis on tenor, Phil Upchurch on bass, and Master Henry Gibson on conga – all grooving nicely through short "combo" oriented organ cuts like "Get Off My Back", "Mirar, Mirar", "She's Coming My Way", "Tough Tip", and "No More Water In The Well". They play with a mix of funkiness and virtuosity, and with the same sense of wit as contemporaries like the Jack McDuff group or Young-Holt Unlimited! LP, Vinyl record album

A pretty sweet little album from Ike & Tina Turner – recording during a period when it seemed like they had contracts with just about every soul label on the market! This one's definitely got that hip "play it for the Fillmore crowd" sound that you'd expect from Blue Thumb – with less of the raw soul of earlier albums, and more of that "studio rootsy" feel that was sure to be big with the kids. There is a great little funk number, though – the incredible "Bold Soul Sister", which has great funky drumbeats, chicken scratch guitar, dipping basslines, and screaming vocals by Tina Turner that make the number sound like a lost little funky 45! Other tracks are more bluesy, and include "The Hunter", "Early In The Morning", "You're Still My Baby", "You Got Me Running", and "The Things I Used To Do". LP, Vinyl record album

James Brown, proud and loud – a smoking 60s album that provides a great link between his earlier styles and his freer roots – with a brilliant blend of funk, soul, and a touch of raw R&B! Given the power of The Godfather at this point, there's no denying that even the older cuts have a punch that few others could match – making for a record that feels mighty darn unified, despite the stretch of time between a few of the recordings. Titles include the funky gems "Ain't That a Groove (pts 1 & 2)", "The Scratch", "Is It Yes or Is It No", and James' great version of "The Bells" that's always been one of our favorites – plus Just You & Me", "I Love You Yes I Do", "Come Over Here", and "I Don't Mind". The cover also comes with an "autographed" photo of James on the back with the text "James Brown Fans – Frame This 8 x 10 Picture" – and an image that says "Soul Brother #1 Is Peeking At You Thru The Key Hole"! LP, Vinyl record album

A heavy funk party from the Japanese jazz scene of the 70s – and a set that hits a lot harder than some of the smoother fusion of the time! There's a grit here that hearkens back to some of the best American jazz funk at the start of the decade – a nice edge that you often don't find in Japanese recordings of this vintage – which is clearly inspired by the American soul scene of the time – as evidence in the weird-looking cover, and in the album's choice of tracks! The notes are in Japanese, which makes it a bit hard to tell what's going on – but the whole thing feels like a live performance, with supposedly different Japanese groups taking the lead – and some calls on the tunes that almost give the whole thing an Osaka Monaurail feel! Titles include "Put It Where You Want It" by Jiro Inagaki & Soul Media, "I Who Have Nothing" by Tan Tan, "Walking All Day" by Eddie Ban & Orient Express, "Sex Machine" by Ozawa Tetsu, and "Scratch" by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalo. LP, Vinyl record album

Heavy funk and super-tight horns – all wrapped up in the kind of a groove that made BT Express one of the hottest club acts of the 70s! The group are at the height of their powers here – working with excellent arrangements from Carlos Ward – a jazzman at heart, and a talent who gives the group all these complicated touches that make them way more than just another soul group with horns – even while the tracks are still moving strongly forward, and stepping strong to a killer clubby groove! Titles include "Funky Music", "Sunshine", "Star Gazer", "How Big Can You Dream", "Eyes", and "Scratch My Itch". CD features a bonus track – "Funky Music (original single version)". CD

Lee Scratch Perry's funky reggae party, put together at the Black Ark, with Boris Gardner, Mickey Boo, Sly Dunbar & Winston Wright. A nice batch of crackling Jamaican funk, with the requisite Black Ark smoke blowing throughout. Includes a bunch of classic Perry-isms, with Scratch dropping verses with his own unique perspective, like "Yu Squeeze My Panhandle", "Roast Fish & Cornbread", "Soul Fire" & "Free Up The Weed" LP, Vinyl record album

Funk from Belgium? Believe it or not, stranger things have happened – and we can promise that if you played these tracks back to back with more familiar grooves from other 70s sources, you'd quickly find that these Belgian grooves are right up there with the best of the bunch! The set's maybe a more sophisticated follow-up to the excellent Funky Chicken collection, which documented some grittier Belgian 70s material a few years back – and this one shows off a wickedly sharp batch of tunes that include funky fusion, sweet sound library numbers, and lots of really inventive cuts that are plenty funk, but often take some great chances too – in ways that almost make us think that the nation's scene was so small that musicians from different genres were often hanging out together, and breaking down lots of musical boundaries in the process! Titles include "Funky Chimes" by Francis Coppieters, "My Chinese Girl Likes Kung Fu Fighting" by The Sumos, "Traveling On Rhythms" by Bud Hunga & His Diplomatic Music, "Pink Movement" by Experience, "Tiger Walk" by The Peter Laine Orchestra, "Faded Lady (inst)" by SSO, "Barabajagal" by The Flying Guitar, "Scratch My Back (parts 1 & 2)" by The Soul Scratchers, "Skylab" by Electronic System III, "Free Way Exit" by Guido Carnagy, "Guess We'd Better Break Up Now" by Etta Cameron, "Give It Up Or Turn It A Loose" by Philip Catherine, "Riff For Peggy" by Roland Thyssen, "We Love The Policemen" by Hearts Of Soul & Shampoo, "Smoke Signal" by Indian Sound Of Blackfoot, "Inner City Blues" by Leslie Kent, "Chewing Gum Delirium" by Free Pop Electronic Concept, "Akkerwinde" by Lieven, "Concerto For Right Foot & Orchestra" by George Hayes & His Philarpopic Orchestra, "Punktowiec" by Skleroptak, and "Soul Melody" by R Dero. CD

An excellent 2CD primer of material collected during the dawn of the reggae age by the Trojan label on their 8 volume Tighten Up series. Bringing together some of the finest rocksteady & reggae cuts produced by Duke Reid, Leslie Kong, Scratch Perry & Joe Gibbs, the original compilations went a long way towards widening the appeal of the then poorly distributed Jamaican soul singles. The 52 songs spread out over these 2 CDs read like the playlist from a top selector's sound system, including The Untouchables' "Tighten Up", Val Bennett's "Spanish Harlem", The Uniques' "Watch This Sound", Clancy Eccles "Fatty Fatty" and "Rod Of Correction", The Upsetters' "Return Of Django", Niney's "Blood & Fire", Bob Andy's "You Don't Know", The Wailers' "Duppy Conqueror" & Johnny Clarke's "None Shall Escape The Judgement". CD

On Things Fall Apart ?uestlove, Black Thought, DJ Scratch, Rahzel and co. reinvigorated the scene with a Philly style soulful, melancholy groove that seemingly influenced the entirety of the NuSoul world – and it could even be argued that the Roots birthed that whole scene. Phrenology carries that torch, but it's so, SO much more, as the heady nature weighed the previous LP down in spots, and Phrenology is a sprawling exercise in expectation-busting perfection! "Rock You" kicks things off in explosive fashion, forgoing the laid back, yet angry soul backbone the group pioneered in hop hop, for a massive electro pulse pounding style – with Black Thought frenetically spitting confrontational wisdom until the synth unexpectedly dives into a short burst of live hardcore punk with "!!!!!!!" (we know what you're thinking, but trust us, it REALLY works). "Sacrifice" features a surprisingly effective chorus sung by Nelly Furtado, and other guest spots include Kweli heating up "Rolling With Heat", Ursula Rucker kicking some reverential poetry on "Waok (ay) Rollcall", and Musiq on the single "Break You Off". Other highlights include the late 80s Bomb Squad-like production on "Thought @ Work", the group's live instrumentation (and ?uestlove's always great trap work) and soul claps on tunes like "The Seed (2.0)", the epic "Water", and "Complexity" with Jill Scott. If you're solely of the 2 turntables and a mic camp you may want to head elsewhere, but if you've been anxiously awaiting the new Roots LP like we have, you'll be knocked straight on your arse, welled up with tears of joy. The best major label hip hop album of '02, and a beauty to go in the time capsule for future generations to learn, and mourn what they missed first hand. Amazing!!! Other tracks include "Quills", "Pussy Galore", and "Something In The Way Of Things (In Town)". CD

A massive exploration of the music of Kashmere Stage Band – the legendary Texas funk combo whose work barely got any circulation at the time – but who've become minor stars, thanks to the efforts of Stones Throw and Wax Poetics! The set goes even deeper than any of the previous vinyl reissues of work by the group – and features some previously unreleased tracks, and alternate takes on their funkiest numbers! The Kashmere groove is incredible – blasting horns, scratchy guitars, and funky drums – all wrapped super-tight around a range of original material and some more familiar numbers – all recast here in super-heavy funk mode! Titles include "All Praises", "Thank You", "Scorpio (extended)", "Headwiggle", "Do You Dig It Man", "Getting It Out Of My System", "Zero Point (parts 1 & 2)", "Boss City", "Burning Spear", "Take Five", and "Keep Doing It". LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible addition to the rich legacy of Stax Records – a massive collection of 146 tracks, almost all of which appear here for the first time ever – a set that represents recordings done by all the great songwriters who were working for Stax at the time, most of whom were also recording artists on the label! Given that fact, these aren't scratchy recordings performed by hacks who can't sing – as almost all the material features the sort of top-shelf vocalists who made Stax such a deep soul powerhouse in the 60s and 70s – represented here in a style that shows just how much freedom of creative expression the label allowed its best – very different than the way some of the bigger companies would just cram a song down a quickly-booked session in the studio! Plus, these demo tracks are done in a variety of modes – some with very stripped-down instrumentation, some with fuller groups – and together, they offer a key look at the creative process at Stax – one that's very different than the iconic sound of productions in their Memphis studio, and which really shows an even deeper range of expression through the variety of approaches. The 7CD set has a really cool approach – CDs 1, 2, and 3 feature demos by Stax artists singing their own material; CD4 features Stax singer/songwriters working on non-Stax material; and CDs 5, 6, and 7 feature songs by these artists that were never issued at the time! The set includes work by The Staple Singers, William Bell, Carla Thomas, Bettye Crutcher, Homer Banks, Eddie Floyd, Veda Brown, Frederick Knight, Mack Rice, Delaney Bramlett, Jimmy Hughes, and many others – and the package features 146 tracks in all, with copious notes on the material! CD

An incredible addition to the rich legacy of Stax Records – a collection of rare tracks, almost all of which appear here for the first time ever – a set that represents recordings done by all the great songwriters who were working for Stax at the time, most of whom were also recording artists on the label! Given that fact, these aren't scratchy recordings performed by hacks who can't sing – as almost all the material features the sort of top-shelf vocalists who made Stax such a deep soul powerhouse in the 60s and 70s – represented here in a style that shows just how much freedom of creative expression the label allowed its best – very different than the way some of the bigger companies would just cram a song down a quickly-booked session in the studio! Plus, these demo tracks are done in a variety of modes – some with very stripped-down instrumentation, some with fuller groups – and together, they offer a key look at the creative process at Stax – one that's very different than the iconic sound of productions in their Memphis studio, and which really shows an even deeper range of expression through the variety of approaches. This LP version features tracks that later became hits in the finished versions – titles that include "A Woman's Love" by Carla Thomas, "634-5789" by Eddie Floyd, "If Loving You Is Wrong" by Homer Banks, "I Got To Be Myself" by Carl Smith, "I'll Be Your Shelter" by Homer Banks, "I've Got No Time To Lose" by Deanie Parker, "I'll Be The Other Woman" by Shelbra Bennett, "Respect Yourself" by Mack Rice, "Woman To Woman" by Henderson Thigpen, and "We Can Love" by Eddie Floyd. LP, Vinyl record album

One of the greatest studio talents of Europe in the 70s! Janko Nilovic may not be a household name, but he was a seminal force in the Parisian studio scene during the 60s and 70s – cutting jazz, funk, pop, and Latin sides with a nutty genius that we'd be hard pressed to beat on this side of the Atlantic! He had a mad talent for mixing unmixable elements – in the kind of way we might ascribe to some of the better MPS groovy sides, or some of the weirder European funk albums, like the classic work of Duke Of Burlington. This long-overdue 2 volume set takes a rich look at Nilovic's talent - and provides some of his best obscure work in a very handsome package. Titles on this first volume include "Gipsy Funk", "Shacking Pop", "Electric Days", "Cross Rolls", "Blow Down", "Centre Atomique", and "Scratching Machine". LP, Vinyl record album

The brilliant return of one of our favorite funky series ever – filled with top-shelf rarities that represent the best of 70s rare groove and break tracks! It's been a long time since we last saw a volume of Strange Games, but this set shows that it's been more than worth the wait – as BBE have come up with a batch of tunes so great, they must have been working on this one for years! As with other volumes, the names are familiar, but the cuts are all surprisingly hard to find – and they're all hand-picked for their resonance with modern use of the material in hip hop and remix culture – an aspect that makes even obscure tunes echo with a strong familiarity because of a bassline or drum break! And as an added treat, the CD and vinyl both have the same number of tracks – an increasingly rare phenomenon these days – with titles that include "Love & Happiness" by Monty Alexander, "She's My Summer Breeze" by The Reflections, "Come Into My Life" by The Supremes, "LA Night" by Yasuko Agawa, "Looking Up To You" by Michael Wycoff, "Give Me Your Love" by Barbara Mason, "Inside Out" by American Gypsy, "You Are What I'm All About" by The New Birth, "Loving You" by Donald Byrd, "Porcupine" by Nature Zone, "Strange Funky Games & Things" by Jay Dee, "Do It Baby" by The Miracles, "California Dreaming" by Eddie Hazel, and "Reflections" by Bill Conti. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible addition to the rich legacy of Stax Records – a massive collection of 146 tracks, almost all of which appear here for the first time ever – a set that represents recordings done by all the great songwriters who were working for Stax at the time, most of whom were also recording artists on the label! Given that fact, these aren't scratchy recordings performed by hacks who can't sing – as almost all the material features the sort of top-shelf vocalists who made Stax such a deep soul powerhouse in the 60s and 70s – represented here in a style that shows just how much freedom of creative expression the label allowed its best – very different than the way some of the bigger companies would just cram a song down a quickly-booked session in the studio! Plus, these demo tracks are done in a variety of modes – some with very stripped-down instrumentation, some with fuller groups – and together, they offer a key look at the creative process at Stax – one that's very different than the iconic sound of productions in their Memphis studio, and which really shows an even deeper range of expression through the variety of approaches. The 7CD set has a really cool approach – CDs 1, 2, and 3 feature demos by Stax artists singing their own material; CD4 features Stax singer/songwriters working on non-Stax material; and CDs 5, 6, and 7 feature songs by these artists that were never issued at the time! The set includes work by The Staple Singers, William Bell, Carla Thomas, Bettye Crutcher, Homer Banks, Eddie Floyd, Veda Brown, Frederick Knight, Mack Rice, Delaney Bramlett, Jimmy Hughes, and many others – and the package features 146 tracks in all, with copious notes on the material! CD

A nice one from Badu – one with a depth of feeling and genuine soulful vibes that live up to its title, despite the fact that she records for one of the world's biggest media conglomerates! It's all about the vibe here. Erykah rolls her syllables, scats and emotes feelings more than an actual narrative in the strongest of these cuts. It's not that she's forgone lyrics, but it's all about the ambience, not radio sing-a-longs. She also dives head first into her organic soul and hip hop hybrid sound a little more sparingly, but still better than most who that followed her lead post-Baduizm. She channels Donald Byrd on the great "Think Twice", which is pretty indicative of the vibe as a whole. The groove is sorta mellow, but in a very tripped-out way, with deep organ washes and synth tones, scratchy soul guitar, and crisp organic beats. There's an appearance by Dead Prez on "Steady On The Grind", and a really sweet old school flavored remake of the great "Love Of My Life" track from the Brown Sugar soundtrack with Queen Latifah and Bahamadia, but for the most part Erykah is sweating soul on her own spiritual plane here. It's gonna take a little while to sink in, but this may be her best album (despite whatever naysaying BS you may read in mainstream reviews.) Tracks include "Bump It", the great single "Danger", "Woo", "Back In The Day" and "I Want You". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the stranger chapters of the Holland-Dozier-Holland story of the early 70s – and one of the coolest, too! Warlock are a jazzy rock combo with plenty of soul – a bit like a twisted version of Blood Sweat & Tears, but with all the sinister energy you'd guess from the image on the cover! Most of the numbers have a nasty scratchy sort of vocal – almost Alice Cooper-ish, in keeping with the Warlock name of the group – but a few others get a bit more soulful and funky, belying the HDH connection of the group – sometimes even showing a righteous jazzy vibe, as kind of an odd echo of the Detroit Tribe Records scene. The best tracks have some jazzy phrasing in the mix, and let the guitars go off to the side – and titles include "Love Girl", "You've Been My Rock", "So Can Woman", "Thrills Of Love", and the 14 minute jammer "As You Die/Music Box", which almost has a Colosseum build to it! LP, Vinyl record album

42 rare gems from the Motown vaults – an incredible treasure trove of unreleased material! The package follows beautifully on the heels of the first Cellarful Of Motown volume – but also manages to go even deeper, and get beyond the better-known "lost" Motown tracks, into a realm of soul music treasures that we never would have expected! The whole thing's great – overflowing with tunes so great, you'll find yourself scratching your head as to why Motown never issued these back in the 60s – and will turn towards the label with a whole new level of respect for all the greatness they still managed to record underneath their more familiar hits. The 2CD set also comes with a great booklet that offers track-by-track notes on the tunes – and a selection of cuts that includes "Take My Hand" by Dalton Boys, "Take Me In Your Arms" by Eddie Holland, "All Day All Night" by Earl Van Dyke, "A Woman Just Won't Do Right" by Shorty Long, "I've Gotta Get Away" by Tommy Good, "Show Girl" by The Vows, "I Can't Get Along Without You" by The Monitors, "I Hope You Have Better Luck Than I Did" by The Marvelettes, "My Heart" by Tammi Terrell, "Where Is the Love" by Rita Wright, "Those DJ Shows" by Patrice Holloway, "Rescue Me" by Blinky, "I Can't Go On Sharing Your Love" by The Isley Brothers, "Choo Choo Train" by Little Lisa, "In The Dark" by The Creations, "Love Trouble Heartache & Misery" by Hatti Littles, "Positively Absolutely Right" by The Temptations, and "Let's Talk It Over" by Marv Johnson. CD

One of the classic early Miles Davis & John Coltrane sessions for Prestige – a well-crafted quintet album that shows Miles finding a stronger voice than ever, and Coltrane beginning to emerge as a key force on his own! Backing is subtle and soulful – handled by the trio of Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones – and although the tracks are mostly ballads and standards, they're all nicely given the Davis treatment on the set, turned into beautiful new vehicles for jazz imagination and improvisation! Titles include "If I Were A Bell", "I Could Write A Book", "Oleo", and "Woody'n You". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare gem from Hank Mobley's initial late 50s run at Blue Note – a session recorded by the label in 1957, but unissued at the time! The quality of the set is right up there with Hank's best from the period – presented here in full album format, and the mix of searing hardbop and gentle soul that we've always loved in Mobley's work – all so great that the album's easily a cut above most other jazz sides of the time, and at a level that has us (as always) scratching our heads as to why Blue Note never put this one out. Players include Art Farmer on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Sonny Clark on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and titles include "East Of Brooklyn", "Tune Up", "Poppin", "Darn That Dream", and "Getting Into Something". CD

A rare gem from Hank Mobley's initial late 50s run at Blue Note – a session recorded by the label in 1957, but unissued at the time! The quality of the set is right up there with Hank's best from the period – presented here in full album format, and the mix of searing hardbop and gentle soul that we've always loved in Mobley's work – all so great that the album's easily a cut above most other jazz sides of the time, and at a level that has us (as always) scratching our heads as to why Blue Note never put this one out. Players include Art Farmer on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Sonny Clark on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and titles include "East Of Brooklyn", "Tune Up", "Poppin", and "Getting Into Something". LP, Vinyl record album

One of our favorite early 70s Harry Mudie sides, filled with moody instrumental soul reggae numbers from pianist Gladstone Anderson! The sound is great – done with a wonderful rolling soulful vibe that wouldn't be out of place on Brunswick or Cadet soul single from Chicago – and the album grooves along nicely with some sophisticated, soulful arrangements laid over top some easy skanking Jamaican grooves! If you're hip to Jackie Mittoo's funky burning organ, you need to get down with Gladdy's mellow groovin' piano! 10 tracks in all, including "It May Sound Silly", "Portrait Of Inga", "Reggae Delight", "Feel Like Dancing", "Leaving Rome" and "Crazy Skank". LP, Vinyl record album

A really new setting for the vocals of singer Liam Bailey – and one that's a bit different for El Michels Affair! The group here are still very funky, and filled with all the fantastic sonic touches that we've always loved from leader Leon Michels – but the setting is more in a reggae mode, with lots of dubby elements at the bottom that are balanced out by soulful falsetto vocals from Liam – sometimes in a way that's heavily processed, sometimes a bit more straight up in the mix! As always with El Michels, the whole thing is like hearing the sounds of the past, but refracted with a unique contemporary vision – topped off here with guest work from Lee Scratch Perry and Black Thought too. Titles include "Conquer & Divide", "Ugly Truths", "Faded", "Lucky Man", "I Love NY", "Superstar", "Angel Face", "Walk With Me", "King", and "No One Else". LP, Vinyl record album

A rare gem from Hank Mobley's initial late 50s run at Blue Note – a session recorded by the label in 1957, but unissued at the time! The quality of the set is right up there with Hank's best from the period – presented here in full album format, and the mix of searing hardbop and gentle soul that we've always loved in Mobley's work – all so great that the album's easily a cut above most other jazz sides of the time, and at a level that has us (as always) scratching our heads as to why Blue Note never put this one out. Players include Art Farmer on trumpet, Pepper Adams on baritone sax, Sonny Clark on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums – and titles include "East Of Brooklyn", "Tune Up", "Poppin", and "Getting Into Something". LP, Vinyl record album

A nice one from Badu – one with a depth of feeling and genuine soulful vibes that live up to its title, despite the fact that she records for one of the world's biggest media conglomerates! It's all about the vibe here. Erykah rolls her syllables, scats and emotes feelings more than an actual narrative in the strongest of these cuts. It's not that she's forgone lyrics; but it's all about the ambience, not radio sing-a-longs. She also dives head first into her organic soul and hip hop hybrid sound a little more sparingly, but still better than any of the ladies that followed her lead after Baduizm. She channels Donald Byrd on the great "Think Twice", which is pretty indicative of the vibe as a whole. The groove is sorta mellow, but in a very tripped-out way, with deep organ washes and synth, scratchy soul guitar, and crisp organic beats. There's an appearance by Dead Prez on "Steady On The Grind", and a really sweet old school flavored remake of the great "Love Of My Life" track from the Brown Sugar soundtrack with Queen Latifah and Bahamadia, but for the most part Erykah is sweating soul on her own spiritual plane here. It's gonna take a little while to sink in, but this may be her best album (despite whatever naysaying BS you may read in mainstream reviews.) Tracks include "Bump It", the great single "Danger", "Woo", "Back In The Day" and "I Want You". CD

A nice one from Badu – one with a depth of feeling and genuine soulful vibes that live up to its title, despite the fact that she records for one of the world's biggest media conglomerates! It's all about the vibe here. Erykah rolls her syllables, scats and emotes feelings more than an actual narrative in the strongest of these cuts. It's not that she's forgone lyrics; but it's all about the ambience, not radio sing-a-longs. She also dives head first into her organic soul and hip hop hybrid sound a little more sparingly, but still better than any of the ladies that followed her lead after Baduizm. She channels Donald Byrd on the great "Think Twice", which is pretty indicative of the vibe as a whole. The groove is sorta mellow, but in a very tripped-out way, with deep organ washes and synth, scratchy soul guitar, and crisp organic beats. There's an appearance by Dead Prez on "Steady On The Grind", and a really sweet old school flavored remake of the great "Love Of My Life" track from the Brown Sugar soundtrack with Queen Latifah and Bahamadia, but for the most part Erykah is sweating soul on her own spiritual plane here. It's gonna take a little while to sink in, but this may be her best album (despite whatever naysaying BS you may read in mainstream reviews.) Tracks include "Bump It", the great single "Danger", "Woo", "Back In The Day" and "I Want You". Includes bonus tracks "Love Of My Life (An Ode To Hip Hop)". CD

2 excellent bits of rare funk – back to back! "Movin" is the more popular number here – a horn-heavy dancefloor jammer from Brass Construction, with great interplay between horns, moog, and keyboards, stretching out for a full 8 minute track! "Shack Up" is even better – and begins with scratchy guitars, vamping basslines, and a monster groove that will never let you down. The cut's one of the oddest funk classics ever, was never issued on an album, and will keep you jamming all night long! 12-inch, Vinyl record

The best work ever by one of the sharpest vocal groups of the pre-soul years! A wealth of material, including rare singles, undubbed tracks, and some unissued material too. CD

A really new setting for the vocals of singer Liam Bailey – and one that's a bit different for El Michels Affair! The group here are still very funky, and filled with all the fantastic sonic touches that we've always loved from leader Leon Michels – but the setting is more in a reggae mode, with lots of dubby elements at the bottom that are balanced out by soulful falsetto vocals from Liam – sometimes in a way that's heavily processed, sometimes a bit more straight up in the mix! As always with El Michels, the whole thing is like hearing the sounds of the past, but refracted with a unique contemporary vision – topped off here with guest work from Lee Scratch Perry and Black Thought too. Titles include "Conquer & Divide", "Ugly Truths", "Faded", "Lucky Man", "I Love NY", "Superstar", "Angel Face", "Walk With Me", "King", and "No One Else". CD